Ardnamurchan Whisky – Highland

Ardnamurchan distillery information

The Ardnamurchan peninsula is the most Western part of the British (and thus Scottish) mainland, thus making the Ardnamurchan Distillery the most westerly in Mainland Scotland.

Adelphi, the owners of the distillery, is no unknown name when it comes to whisky. It all dates back to 1825, when the Gray family established the “Loch Katrine Adelphi Distillery” in Glasgow. The distillery was named after the closeby located Adelphi street as well as the water source, Loch Katrine. It certainly couldn’t be called a small distillery, using 2 mash tuns, 12 washbacks, and 2 stillhouses, along with a cooperage. The distillery changed hands in the 1870’s, and again in 1902. The distillery then went dormant, and the Adelphi name faded, until 1993, it was resurrected by the great-grandson of the owner who took control of the distillery in the 1870s. This time, however, Adelphi was an independent bottler, focusing on sourcing rare and unique casks from various distilleries. Their relentless focus on quality while selecting their whiskies established the name of Adelphi once again, winning numerous prizes for their selections.

Following their success in the bottling market, Adelphi started looking into the option of meeting the demand for their whiskies. They explored several options, but eventually deemed the best course of action was to establish their own distillery (rather than sticking to purchasing casks, or acquiring an existing distillery). The search began for a suitable location, and eventually the decision was made to establish the distillery roughly 50 meters South-East of the village of Glenbeg; in the vicinity of the Adelphi headquarters; also located on Ardnamurchan, in Glenborrodale Castle.

Focusing on establishing an environmentally friendly distillery, the main source of fuel will be a wood chip fueled biomass plant, using extensive and sustainable woodland on-site. By-products of the distillation process will support nearby small-scale bio-production.

Ardnamurchan whisky

The distillery has its own malting floor, and all whisky will be matured on site. The focus will be on single malt whisky, with no plans to sell produce to blenders. The volume of the distillery will be kept low, to ensure quality over quantity. All whiskies will probably be bottled at cask strength, as is normal for Adelphi.

The intention is to distill both peated- and un-peated whisky, in equal quantities.